Tau'ri
Tau'ri is the term used by the inhabitants of the Milky Way Galaxy to refer to Earth and humans from it. The word means "first ones" or "those from the first world" in Goa'uld, in the sense that human life began on their homeworld. The Tau'ri have become known as the Atlanteans by the races of the Pegasus Galaxy due to their habitation of the city of Atlantis, and Earth has also been referred to as "Midgard" by the peoples of planets under the protection of the Asgard. They have gained a reputation as courageous and honorable warriors, though some view their rapid rise to prominence as a threat to their own influence. When the Asgard race was close to extinction, they declared the Tau'ri as the "Fifth Race", alluding to the once-powerful Alliance of Great Races. When the Nox rebirthed the organization to face modern threats, Earth became a founding member of the new Alliance, and one of two primary military powers in it, alongside the Free Jaffa Nation. Their membership eventually transferred to the Interstellar Alliance, a galactic government in which Earth was to play a critical and leading role. In terms of broader galactic history, the people of Earth have been a part of every conflict in the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies. The Tau'ri were directly responsible for the destruction of the Replicators and Asurans, played an instrumental role in assisting the Jaffa in toppling the System Lords, and aided in the battles against the Der'kal, Aschen, and Wraith. For better or worse, their historic impact on intergalactic affairs is undeniable, and the future seems ready to be written by their hands. History Ancient legacy with attendants and Horus Guards in Ancient Egypt]] The Tau'ri are humans that were seeded by the Ancients when they left the Milky Way in Atlantis to escape the carnage of the Ori Plague. They returned after the end of the war with the Wraith millions of years later, some staying among the humans and passing on the ATA Gene, others departing for far-off, exotic worlds. The passed-on DNA makes many citizens of Earth direct descendants of the Ancients and the rightful inheritors of Ancient technology. Avalon}} Around the same time as the Ancient return from Pegasus, the Tau'ri were discovered by the Goa'uld Ra, and transported throughout the galaxy via the Stargate network when his race was dying. The people of Earth eventually rebelled against the imposed Goa'uld slavery and buried the Stargate in Egypt, cutting themselves off from galactic affairs for almost 8,000 years. The "Star Gate" laborers lift the Stargate out of the ground in 1928]] In the human year 1928, just prior to the breakout of World War II, the Tau'ri unearthed their stargate, having forgotten the history of what lay beyond their world. Sixty years later, the truth of all that would be revealed; the galaxy was populated with the ancient peoples of Earth, and the Tau'ri were their only hope of eventual freedom from the Goa'uld, being the only peoples with the combination of high technology and the will to fight and die for the liberty of others. When the Second World War finally did break out, the first experiments with the stargate began. The United States of America, under the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized experimentation on the Ancient device in an attempt to figure out what it was capable of. Professor Langford and Ernest Littlefield led a short expedition through the portal, but it was abandoned after Littlefield was presumed killed following his entering the event horizon. The experimentation, and eventual exploration, would be continued many years later when the US Air Force commissioned a team to travel to the only other world they knew of at the time, Abydos, and assess its value and threat to Earth, with orders to destroy any enemy forces via nuclear device. On that desert world, they encountered the Abydonians, peaceful but primitive peoples ruled over by Ra, the very alien who had conquered Earth so long ago. Leading the Abydonian Revolution, Col. Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson liberated the planet and killed Ra, creating, unbeknownst to them, a substantial power vacuum in Goa'uld space. The birth of Stargate Command A year later, Ra's most powerful rival, Apophis, invaded Stargate Command just as the gate was being shut down, kidnapping a young officer. In response, nine teams (with many more later on) were organized to travel to other worlds, open negotiations with other civilizations, and procure advanced technologies to defend Earth. The first mission was headed by SG-1 and SG-2, who went to the prominent Jaffa world of Chulak. SG-1 was captured by Apophis' forces, exposing them and their homeworld to the ire of the System Lords, but were later freed by the warrior Teal'c, who would join them and their people in their struggles . speaking to the Asgard High Council through a hologram]] After many successful missions, Senator Robert Kinsey attempted to shut down the Stargate Program, claiming it was a global risk to human life, ignoring the warning from Daniel Jackson that a Goa'uld attack was imminent. SG-1, seeing no other options, disobeyed orders and went through the gate to the co-ordinates Daniel found in an alternate reality, supposedly where Apophis' motherships were waiting to depart for the Sol System. With the help of Bra'tac, Teal'c's mentor and a respected Jaffa master, they destroyed the two cruisers and halted the planned invasion of Earth. The Tau'ri would later came into contact with other powerful races, such as the Asgard, who, at the time, believed that the Tau'ri were too young a people to ally with. The Tok'ra became their first official offworld partners, a race of Goa'uld who were opposed to the System Lords' enslavement of the galaxy. They eventually formed a formal alliance with the underground group and joined in their fight against the major Goa'uld threats. Stargate|Politics|The Serpent's Lair|The Tok'ra|The Fifth Race}}. Two years later, SG-1 would encounter the Replicators, a race of insectoid machines impervious to all energy weapons (used by nearly all advanced races), yet vulnerable to crude projectile weapons (such as those used on Earth). When the "bugs" arrived over Earth in a stolen Asgard ship previously commanded by Supreme Commander Thor, the Beliskner, SG-1 helped crash it into the Pacific Ocean. The heat of re-entry caused the vessel to break up in the atmosphere, devastating its internal systems and destroying all but one Replicator, which itself would later be contained, as well. This was the first of many skirmishes between the two factions, though Ancient technology would one day allow the Tau'ri to wipe the Replicators out once and for all. against the replicators]] Atlantis and the Ori When the extremely-powerful System Lord Anubis attacked Earth, SG-1 activated hidden Ancient defenses in Antarctica, destroying his fleet and signaling the beginning of the end for the Goa'uld. In the process, the stargate address to the Lost City of the Ancients, known from their myths as Atlantis, was discovered. It was said to be a place of enormous power and incredible technology, capable of ending all threats to Earth once and for all. It would later be revealed that it wasn't, in fact, even located in the Milky Way, but in another galaxy called Pegasus. Stargate Command sent an expedition through the gate to locate the city, using the ZPM recovered from the Ancient outpost on Proclarush Taonas during Anubis' attempt to conquer the planet. Upon arrival, the Expedition learned that the Ancients had also seeded human life in this galaxy, but had been forced to abandon it after a devastating war with an unstoppable enemy known as the Wraith. After eight long years of fighting against the Goa'uld, the Tau'ri were eventually able to defeat the System Lords, aided by the Replicator invasion and with the help of the Jaffa Resistance, Tok'ra, and Asgard. Powering up and altering the Ancient weapon on the planet Dakara, they simultaneously destroyed the Replicators and crippled the Goa'uld once and for all, freeing the long-enslaved Jaffa and bringing an era of peace to the galaxy, or so they thought. ]] After the defeat of the Goa'uld, Stargate Command located hidden relics of the Ancient Merlin on Earth, including an intergalactic communications device. When Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran used the system in an attempt to meet living Ancients, they accidentally alerted the sadistic and extremely powerful Ori, ascended being and moral opposites of the Alterans, to their presence. With the whole of the Milky Way revealed to them, the Ori launched a crusade against it, determined to convert every last living soul to Origin and eliminate any who stood in their way. For three years, the Tau'ri and the other races of the Milky Way stood their ground against the enemy, but it was only a matter of time before they were overrun by the Orici, Adria, and her forces. Thanks again to Merlin, Earth managed to acquire a weapon capable of destroying ascended beings, called the Sangraal, and sent it to the Ori galaxy through their own Supergate in an attempt to destroy them once and for all. Months later, the Tau'ri would be given legacy of the Asgard, who, due to a rapidly-progressing genetic disease, would soon be no more. With the technology of the powerful race on their side, Earth led the galaxy in a counter-attack against the Ori (which ultimately exposed the Stargate Program on Earth), and with the assistance of the Ancients, finally ended the crusade the following year. The Der'kal War When the Nox convened the galaxy's major races to form a new Alliance of Great Races at Heliopolis, the Tau'ri were there to be included. They now have a seat on the Alliance High Council, and as such exert a great deal of influence on galactic affairs. Along with their allies, they joined the fight to bring the terrorist Zanous Garrin to justice for his repeated crimes against advanced worlds, but the former Lucian Alliance pirate was far more cunning than he appeared. When the Alliance finally caught him over P9X-335, he was unmasked as an android emissary of extragalactic aliens. The Der'kal themselves quickly arrived, decimating the Allied fleet amassed to face them, and proceeded to launch an unprovoked attack on the entirety of the Milky Way. Due to Earth's location being far from the point of the aliens' entry, the Tau'ri homeworld has been spared in the war effort thus far, but enemy forces are encroaching more and more into Alliance space every day, and it may only be a matter of time before humanity faces the Der'kal on their own doorstep. Politics Political climate , Head of Homeworld Security and former Commander of the Stargate Command]] The United States, by virtue of its control of the gate, was largely responsible for Earth's interstellar policy in the early days of the Stargate Program. However, more nations gradually came to take part in its use, largely due to alien action. After an Asgard ship crashed into international waters, Russia was able to recover a stargate that SG-1 had beamed aboard and used it to briefly establish their own Program based in Siberia, although this was eventually terminated and merged with the United States' own. The Russians currently operate their own SG team under Stargate Command's authority, though they have made it clear they want more units of their own. When Anubis threatened Earth, both Russia and the United States decided to inform the three other UN Security Council member-nations (Great Britain, France, and China) of the gate's existence. The attack did finally come, and as such President Hayes of the Untied States informed the four other countries and longtime ally Canada of his plans for planetary defense. Ultimately this was seen to be unnecessary, but it the first internationally-orchestrated action taken in response to an alien threat, and an important step forward for Earth nonetheless. The three main branches of humanity's involvement with alien technology include: * Oversight of the Antarctica Outpost in Antarctica * Stargate Command (also its associated research facility at Area 51 and the Alpha Site) * The construction of the fleet of Earth-built spaceships for interstellar use, such as the DSC-304 and BC-303 The efforts of the United States in these three branches are coordinated by the Department of Home-world Security in the United States and the United Nations on a planetary level. ]] Many of the nations that are now aware of the existence of the Stargate still don't agree on many issues regarding interstellar and domestic policy. From the onset, China has expressed its distaste at not informing the public about the Stargate's existence; however, they have deferred to the United States' opinion on this matter as they have seen the possibility for mass panic and war; SG teams have accidentally sparked planetary wars on industrial, World War II/Cold War-era worlds by informing their populations about the true nature of the stargate, the most notable being on Tegalus, where first contact caused a fundamentalist coup d'état and full-scale nuclear apocalypse. . Russian officials have intimated in private that one of their major motivations in supporting the United States' control of the gate is that it costs them nothing and has no risk to Russia itself. Indeed, Russia has greatly benefited from American oversight, having received many advanced technologies and use of Asgard construction techniques in creating their own battlecruisers. Public knowledge of the Stargate Program Over the years, all attempts have been made to keep the existence of the Stargate secret, assuming there would be mass panic if it was ever revealed. This has been shown by several alternate-universe experiences, as the reaction was oftentimes apocalyptic. The SGC has been remarkably successful at keeping the secret nonetheless, even when Earth is under direct attack by from alien forces; when Anubis laid siege to the planet, for example, he decimated an entire US Navy Carrier Group, but the stargate itself remained hidden behind controversies. Nevertheless, conspiracy theorists, especially those with business ties to the U.S. Air Force, such as Alec Colson, suspected that some kind of extraterrestrial activity was going on at the highest levels of the military. A very few select civilians not affiliated with the government were also aware of the gate's existence, such as Martin Lloyd (who is himself an alien), Joe Spencer and his wife, and Jeannie Miller and her husband Kaleb. Following the the Ori attack on Earth, the Program was revealed by the Untied States to the world. Although it was a reluctant move, the very-public engagement in the skies above the planet would have been impossible to explain-away, especially the DSC-304 [[DSC-304 Aurora|''Aurora's]] flight over New York City. Although a month of panic and relative chaos ensued, Earth did not suffer the apocalypse that had so long been feared when the stargate became common knowledge, and the United States Air Force retained its control of the gate itself. A year later, the United Nations would take over the Program, though it would still be operated out of the Cheyenne Mountain. Relationships with other cultures s, the first group of humans encountered by the Tau'ri in 1994]] The Tau'ri had a strong alliance with the Jaffa Resistance, effectively being responsible for its creation beginning with Teal'c's defection. Even today, in the era of the Free Jaffa Nation, though, many of its citizens believe that the Tau'ri merely accelerated the inevitable Jaffa uprising, a process that had started by the rebellion of the Sodan and continued by smaller rebellions across the years on countless worlds. Those Jaffa factions who fought alongside the Tau'ri felt very indebted to Earth, and would later fight to establish a democratic system of government like that of the Unites States. By stumbling across the Pangarans, combined with their special relationship with the Tok'ra, the Tau'ri were also able to free the Jaffa from their mortal dependence on Goa'uld larvae by adapting the tretonin for wide-spread use. The relationship between the Tau'ri and the new Free Jaffa Nation became strained when Gerak rose to power over Bra'tac. Many Jaffa continue to view the Tau'ri with a certain amount of mistrust, leading to several threats against Earth and its offworld assets. Even so, the Nation remains humanity's staunchest ally, always willing to fight alongside them. during a meeting with the Tau'ri.]] Stargate Command made contact with the Tok'ra shortly after Apophis' failed assault on Earth, prompting their first major alliance with an alien power. Helping their new friends relocate across the galaxy and hide from the Goa'uld,the Tau'ri quickly proved themselves worthwhile allies, and the two factions have been strong allies ever since. The Tau'ri also had strong ties with the Tollan before their destruction, despite their frustration at the Tollan's refusal to share any of their technology with them. Tollan society was destroyed by Anubis when they refused to attack Earth to save their own planet, redeeming themselves in Stargate Command's eyes for their perceived arrogance. meet the Asuran Council and its leader Oberoth]] After the Battle of Antarctica, it was discovered that Earth was also the homeworld of the Ancients after they left their own galaxy for the Milky Way. As one of the most advanced civilization to ever live, they and their achievements are honored across the known universe, and they are the direct ancestors of the Tau'ri. Humans on Earth possess the ATA gene that was passed on by their Lantean forerunners, allowing them to operate powerful or dangerous Ancient technologies, making them one of the only races capable of restoring places like Atlantis to their former glory. That said, their status as the Ancients' children has come back to haunt the Tau'ri in the cases of the Genii and the Asurans, the latter going so far as to attack Atlantis for no other reason than that. , the Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet. An old friend of SG-1, and one of the many Asgard who thought very highly of the Tau'ri]] The Asgard once described the Tau'ri as being well on their way to becoming the "Fifth Race" of the ancient alliance of powerful races. Although the Asgard were originally hesitant to form any sort of treaty with the Tau'ri, as the difference in their levels of technology was at the time too great, they would eventually come to depend on Earth in their fight against the Replicators; used to dealing with the sophisticated Asgard technology, the insectoid robots were unprepared to counter the more simplistic approaches of the Tau'ri. In return for their assistance, the Asgard became one of Earth's greatest and most powerful friends, and passed on many of their technologies, most notably hyperdrive, shielding, and beaming technology. The prosperous relationship would come to an untimely end, though, when the Asgard cloning problem reached a critical stage. Before their era came to a close, the Asgard blessed Earth with all their latest technologies, history, and knowledge, proclaiming that they truly had become the Fifth Race at last. When dealing with less advanced human races, the Tau'ri have adopted a policy on the sharing of technology similar to the Tollan; advanced knowledge cannot be given to races that are not ready for it. Earth does, however, offer humanitarian and medical aid to allied planets, and frequently intervenes in political and military situations across the galaxy when it is thought that they can be of help. This sometimes causes problems with an attempt to apply Earth-based morality and laws to extraplanetary peoples, though these problems are usually resolved peacefully. ]] In the Pegasus Galaxy, where they have become known as the "Atlanteans", Earth has established relations with many of the less-advanced human groups there with the help of the Athosians, their closest allies in the region. In the days before constant contact with Earth, many such unions were made to gain a steady supply of food or fresh water. Following the Daedalus' arrival, though, they are more-often made to fight the Wraith, such as the alliance with the Travelers and the tenuous one with Radim Ladon's faction of Genii. Tau'ri on the Intergalactic Stage The rapid rise of the Tau'ri to prominence in two major galaxies has not gone unnoticed by other interstellar powers, and while many respect and acknowledge the good they have done, others are not so quick to praise humanity. Close and long-standing allies such as the Jaffa and Tok'ra no longer doubt their good fortune in terms of Earth entering the war against the Goa'uld. Likewise, Pegasus groups such as the Travelers and Athosians would never wish ill luck on their friends, but not everyone feels that way. In their own times, the Lucian Alliance, System Lords, and other such groups despised the Tau'ri and many races today continue to view them with suspicion. Only time will tell if that can change. Technology warheads detonate over the surface of Asuras]] The Tau'ri were a fairly advanced race even before the exploration of the Milky Way, capable of simple space travel via shuttles and nuclear warfare. Tau'ri weapons are capable of rivaling the Goa'uld staff weapons and, interestingly enough, Tau'ri firearms were the only known weapons to permanently damage the Replicators before the invention of the Replicator disruptor. Humanity's first successful attempt of constructing any advanced starships of their own resulted in the F-302, an air and space superiority vehicle capable of engaging battle against most alien starships. Since then, one of the Stargate Command's primary objectives has been to develop and construct a fleet of Earth-built space battleships, such as the DSC-304 and the BC-303. Alien technology , containing all the knowledge of the Asgard]] Earth also developed many technologies based on what SG teams have brought back from trips to other planets via the use of the stargate. While their level of advancement prior even to gate travel far supersedes the level found on most planets throughout the galaxy (and indeed others), several races far surpass even ''it. Much of the alien technology the SGC was able to procure was Goa'uld in nature, which Earth utilized to make several technological leaps, primarily in the field of starship construction. However, the Asgard donation of their entire database and latest technology before they perished, and the exploration of Atlantis and access its database, the technological advancement of the Tau'ri continues to climb at a tremendous rate, though they still have quite a ways to go before the concepts behind these miraculous machines are fully understood. Military strength , the Tau'ri flagship]] Earth has several offworld teams, mostly under the control of the ISGC, who are to open negotiations with other planets and procure advanced technology that could be used to defend the homeworld. They usually operate as groups of four, although that is not a requirement for duty. A few offworld bases have a number of military personnel for operation outside of the SG units themselves. In addition to this, Earth presumably possesses a conventional military capability dispersed throughout the many nations that occupy its surface. The potential effectiveness of these forces in defending Earth against external attack is unknown, as SG Teams using current military equipment have shown weapons such as FIM-92 Stinger Missiles to be somewhat effective against Goa'uld vehicles. However, the decentralized nature of the Earth military, as well as the great variations in standards of training and equipment present the possibility that an external attack would at least at first meet confused and relatively ineffective resistance. In addition, the ease with which forces of Anubis managed to annihilate a US Navy Carrier Battle Group indicates that much of Earth's military capabilities would be of limited use against external threats. The Tau'ri also posses at least 25 SG teams and a minimum 5 Atlantis teams who are actively working off-world. Starships ]] Earth also operates a small, but highly advanced, fleet of starships. Known ships include: *''BC-303'' **''Prometheus (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Ming Yun (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Espoir (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Churchill (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Lafayette (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Le Gaulle (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' *''DSC-304'' **''Daedalus (Destroyed - Milky Way/Pegasus)'' **''Odyssey (Decommissioned - Milky Way)'' **''Korolev (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Apollo (Active - Milky Way)'' **''Phoenix (Active - Milky Way/Pegasus)'' **''Aurora (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Sun Tzu (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Valiant (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Fraiser (Destroyed - Milky Way)'' **''Heracles (Destroyed - Pegasus)'' **''Thor (Status Unknown - Milky Way)'' *''MBP-305'' **''Jupiter (Active - Milky Way)'' **''Aurora (Active - Milky Way)'' Earth also has several dozen squadrons of F-302 Interceptors, but the exact number remains unknown. The USAF has also developed the F-302/B Bomber, which is capable of inflicting far more damage than ordinary fighters against enemy cruisers. In addition, the Tau'ri utilize Ancient Puddle Jumpers, and are in the process of constructing a future-designed warship, the MBP-305 Jupiter. The Atlantis Expedition , the Tau'ri base of operations in the Pegasus galaxy]] The Atlantis Project, also called the Atlantis Expedition, is Earth's international mission to the Ancient city of Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy. The impetus for the creation of the expedition was the discovery of the Ancient outpost in Antarctica. Its international status was, before the revelation of the Stargate Program, to foster worldwide support for the secret endeavors, as well as the fact that according to international law, Antarctica is unclaimable territory and hence it would technically be illegal for the United States to operate any facilities without international participation, or at least international knowledge. The International Oversight Advisory This powerful committee was originally created to oversee the Atlantis Project, but in time grew beyond its starting purpose and has actively affected other areas of Earth's offworld affairs as the International Oversight Advisory, or I.O.A. Its core is composed of representatives the "Big Five" nations: the United States, represented by Richard Woolsey; the United Kingdom, represented by Russel Chapman; France, represented by Jean LaPierre; Russia, represented (it is assumed) by Col. Chekov, the Russian military liaison to Stargate Command (although it is unknown if he survived the Battle of P3Y-229); and China, represented by Dr. Chen Xiaoyi. Toward the end of the first year of hostilities with the Ori agreed to provide Stargate Command with funds which General Hank Landry and Daniel Jackson stated would be necessary for the SGC to remain important; since the US Congress would not appropriate these funds, the committee agreed to supply them from their own treasury on the condition that a civilian watchdog would be permitted to watch over SGC affairs. That watchdog was generally accepted to be Richard Woolsey before he began his tenure as commander of Atlantis. Upon the public revelation of the stargate, the I.O.A. remained an important oversight tool for the various world governments eager to keep an eye on offworld business. When the United Nations was given command of the Program, however, the Advisory board was folded into the UN at large, with some of its duties being transferred to the General Assembly. Major worlds under Tau'ri control *Alpha Site (Major offwolrd base) *Earth (Homeworld) *Gamma Site (Major offworld base) *M35-117 (Current location of Atlantis) *Nueva (Civilian colony) *Pegasus Alpha Site (Major offworld base) *P4F-221 (Mining operations for naquadah) *P5C-629 (Military base) Major Enemies *Aschen (Active Milky Way Galaxy Threat) *Asurans (Confirmed defeated) *Der'kal (Status unknown) *System Lords (Disbanded) *Michael Kenmore (Confirmed defeated) *Replicators (Confirmed defeated) *OP-CORE (Status unknown) *Ori (Confirmed defeated) *The Trust (Disbanded) *Wraith (Active Pegasus Galaxy threat) *Zanous Garrin's Faction (Disbanded) External links *Tau'ri on Wikipedia *Tau'ri technology in Stargate on Wikipedia Category:Goa'uld language Category:Tau'ri